The Hadith: "A Disbeliever and the One Who Kills Him Will Never Be Together in Hell":An Analytical Hadith Study

Abstract

This study examines the hadith, "A disbeliever and the one who kills him will never be together in Hell,"through a comprehensive hadith-based analytical approach. It aims to trace the narration of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), examine its chains of transmission, identify its supporting narrations, distinguish the authentic wording from unauthentic variants, reconcile the apparent contradiction between the preserved wording of the hadith and other narrations, and analyze the juristic and theological issues arising from the hadith.

The study follows analytical and critical methodologies. It is divided into two parts: a hadith study dealing with the documentation of the narration, the evaluation of its chains and textual variants, and an analytical study addressing unfamiliar vocabulary and the scholarly issues contained in the hadith.

The study concludes that the hadith of Abu Hurairah is authentic and that the preserved wording is the narration recorded by Imam Muslim through the chain of al-'Ala' ibn Abd al-Rahman: "A disbeliever and the one who kills him will never be together in Hell." It also confirms the authenticity of the second narration recorded by Muslim through Abu Ishaq al-Fazari and those who narrated from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih: "They will not be together in Hell in a manner that harms either of them." When the Prophet ﷺ was asked who they were, he replied: "A believer who kills a disbeliever and then remains steadfast."

The study further demonstrates Imam Muslim's remarkable precision in selecting narrations from transmitters about whom criticism had been expressed, narrating only those reports corroborated by reliable authorities. It also concludes that one of the principal reasons for the scholarly disagreement concerning the meaning of the hadith is the differing interpretations of the phrase "then remains steadfast" (thumma saddad)